Notes: The M-61
Vulcan was originally designed post-World War 2 as an autocannon to be mounted
in high-speed aircraft.Design work
began on the weapon and ammunition in 1946; though the ammunition was ready in
1952, a reliable Vulcan was not available until 1959.Ammunition for the M-61 Vulcan is generally used in belts only in
ground-mounted applications like the M-163; aircraft and aircraft gun pods
generally use drums of linkless ammunition that are sized to carry the maximum
amount of ammunition that the aircraft design allows. (Helicopters generally use
belted ammunition for their internal guns and gun pods). The figures shown here
are primarily for belted ammunition in ground-mount and vehicular applications
(and the Phalanx CIWS).The
Cobra helicopter is also a user of Vulcan ammunition in its M-197 autocannon.
Early in the Vulcan’s ammunition development, the Air Force seriously considered
using a 27mm round; however, it was decided that a smaller-caliber round would
allow for more ammunition carriage and a lighter gun, and that using
high-velocity 20mm ammunition would give the Vulcan near-equivalent damaging
power.

Though GE
invented the Vulcan and developed its ammunition, GE later sold its Armament
Systems division to Martin Marietta.Martin later merged with Lockheed, who were later acquired by General
Dynamics, who currently build and make parts for the Vulcan and its derivative
guns.In addition, there are
several foreign license producers, and even more license producers of its
ammunition.

Notes: The
HS-804 is an old World War 2 antiaircraft cartridge, originally used by just
about every Western nation.
Currently, the HS-804 is fired only by a few weapons, most notably antiaircraft
and IFV weapons of vehicles of the former Yugoslavia (the “M-55” listed below).
The HS-804 is now considered obsolete for most purposes, though it has found
some minor use in antimateriel rifles as well as the uses mentioned above.The shells and the guns firing them are light in weight and easy to use.Loading is as simple as loading a machinegun, whether the gun is fed by a
belt of magazine.The guns and
ammunition is still being produced, primarily in the former Yugoslavia.

Other Names:
M-55, Mk 11, Mk 12

Size: 20x110mm

Weight: 43.2 kg
per case of 100

Price: (APDS)
$369 per case

(API) $347 per case

(HE) $283 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.35 kg

10-round drum: 6.02 kg

60-round drum: 32.45 kg

75-round drum: 40.37 kg

75-round belt: 25.92 kg

100-round belt: 34.56 kg

120-round drum: 64.16 kg

140-round belt: 48.38 kg

150-round belt: 51.84 kg

180-round drum: 95.87 kg

200-round belt: 51.84 kg

200-round belt: 69.12 kg

20mm Oerlikon KAA/KAB

Notes: This
ammunition was first developed for the KAA autocannon in the 1950s, which was
their successor to their 20mm Type S.The KAA was designed primarily to be an AAA gun, and at first only HE
ammunition was available, though its use on light AFVs led to the development of
an API round.The shells and their
guns are light in weight and easy to use, and even fully loaded retain their
light weight.Loading is as simple
as loading a machinegun, whether the gun is fed by a belt or by a magazine.The guns and ammunition are still being produced.

Size: 20x128mm

Weight: 50.26 kg
per case of 100

Price: (API)
$393 per case

(HE) $320 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.4 kg

8-round drum: 5.77 kg

20-round drum: 13.15 kg

50-round drum: 31.6 kg

75-round belt: 30.2 kg

100-round belt: 40.2 kg

120-round belt: 48.25 kg

20mm Oerlikon KAD

Notes: Designed
for what was originally the Hispano-Suiza HS-820 autocannon, the KAD uses a
longer round with more propellant.
It was designed primarily as an aircraft cannon, so the first round developed
was HEI, followed by APHEI and then API when it began to be used in vehicle
mounts.Rounds primarily designed
to produce shrapnel fragments (to increase effectiveness against aircraft
targets and against personnel in the open) and APDS rounds followed later when
the round began to be used by the German Rh-202 autocannon on their armored
vehicles.The ammunition is still
being produced, despite the falling use of the KAD autocannon, because several
German vehicles still use the Rh-202 autocannon as their primary armament, and
several aircraft still use the US M-139 autocannon as aircraft armament.

Other Names:
HS-820, Rh-202, 20mm M693, Vektor F2

Size: 20x139mm

Weight: 55 kg
per case of 100

Price: (AP) $421
per case

(APDS) $492 per case

(APHEI) $492 per case

(API) $462 per case

(HEI) $358 per case

(SHRAP) $465 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.44 kg

8-round drum: 6.27 kg

20-round drum: 14.28 kg

50-round drum: 34.32 kg

75-round belt: 30.2 kg

75-round drum: 51.02 kg

100-round belt: 43.67 kg

120-round box: 81.07 kg

140-round belt: 61.14 kg

23mm ZU-23

Notes: First
designed to be fired from the ZU-23-2 antiaircraft autocannon in the late 1950s,
this round has since been used by dozens of antiaircraft guns as well as some
vehicular autocannons meant for antivehicle/antipersonnel use instead of
antiaircraft use.It is also used
as helicopter armament on some attack helicopters and in some gun pods for
helicopters. The ZU-23 round is essentially an update of the World War 2 VYa
round, with a wider variety of updated warheads and using steel casings instead
of brass casings.Due to the
different loadings of projectiles and different primers the VYa and ZU-23 rounds
are not compatible, however.Fired
en masse, the ZU-23 round can be
devastating, but as a single autocannon firing as vehicular armament of
helicopter armament, it is a bit lacking in damaging and penetration potential,
though range is satisfying.

Other Names:
23mm Type 85

Size: 23x152mm

Weight: 79 kg
per case of 100

Price: (APDS-T)
$469 per case

(API) $418 per case

(HE) $341 per case

(HVAPI) $704 per case

(HVHE) $457 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.63 kg

50-round belt: 31.6 kg

100-round belt: 63.2 kg

25mm OSCW

Notes: Designed
specifically to be fired from Barrett XM-109 Payload Rifle and the OSCW
autocannon/grenade launcher (now named the XM-307 ACSW, for Advanced Crew-Served
Weapon), the 25mm OSCW round is a stubby, relatively short-range round that can
carry a variety of projectile types.Currently, conventional and programmable airburst rounds are available,
though weapon and round research continues.As far as I know, the round and the weapons that fire it have had only
very limited combat testing, though intensive range and development testing has
taken place.

Size: 25x59mm

Weight: 8 kg per
case of 22

Price: (HE) $60
per case

(HEDP) $85 per case

(HEAB) $90 per case

(HEDP-AB) $128 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.29 kg

22-round cassette: 6.37 kg

74-round cassette: 21.43 kg

25mm Oerlikon KBA

Notes: The
Oerlikon KBA round was originally designed by Eugene Stoner for use in an
autocannon that was to arm the US MICV (the vehicle that became the M-2
Bradley). The design of the gun and ammunition was bought out by Oerlikon after
the M-242 Bushmaster won that competition, but as a result KBA ammunition is
usable by the M-242 Bushmaster as well as its derivative, the GAU-12/U.It can also be fired by the Mauser Mk 25, the Giat M-811, the Aden 25
aircraft cannon, and the various KBA autocannon clones.The KBA round is conventionally primed and uses a lacquered steel case
with a belt link locating groove just behind the case shoulder.This special adaptation to belt feed makes reloading the round by other
than special equipment difficult, as the groove expands when the round is fired
and must be re-done carefully or the reloaded round will jam the weapon.

Notes: In modern
times, when one refers to a 30mm DEFA cannon, one is generally referring to the
DEFA 554, the most modern version of the 30mm DEFA autocannon.The 30mm DEFA autocannon is almost exclusively an aircraft cannon,
mounted as the internal gun on some fighters, attack aircraft, and helicopters;
however, a few antiaircraft guns, like the Giat Type 30 M 781 use the 30mm DEFA
round, as well as some antiaircraft guns mounted on ships.30mm DEFA ammunition is electrically-ignited (the primer is only able to
be ignited by an electric charge), and since it is used as an aircraft cannon,
is capable of functioning at cyclic rates of up to 2000 rounds per minute
through one barrel.Though the guns
are not the same, the British 30mm ADEN autocannon uses the same ammunition as
the DEFA, leading to the ammunition’s alternate name.Though manufactured in several countries, more 30mm DEFA ammunition is
produced in South Africa than anywhere else, despite the designbeing French and France being a major user of the 30mm DEFA’s ammunition
and autocannon.

Other Names:
30mm ADEN

Size: 30x113mm

Weight: 99.8 kg
per case of 100

Price: (APHEI)
$635 per case

(API) $573 per case

(HEI) $455 per case

(SAPHEI) $633 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.8 kg

100-round belt: 79.87 kg

30mm 2A42

Notes: The 30mm
2A42 round was introduced in the 1970s specifically for use by armored vehicles,
helicopters, and antiaircraft autocannons; until this point, such vehicles were
equipped with either lower-caliber autocannons or adapted naval autocannons.The 30mm 2A42 fires percussion-primed ammunition, instead of using the
electrical priming of adapted naval guns.As the number of applications and ammunition technology grew, the number
of ammunition types grew, and the number of vehicles mounting the 2A42 or its
descendants has grown to the point where it is virtually an ubiquitous
autocannon in Russian, former Russian, Former Warsaw Pact, and Chinese service,
as well as among former Soviet or Chinese client states.Ground vehicles normally use the armor-piercing types, with HE-types as
secondary; antiaircraft guns normally use HE or HE-FRAG; helicopters tend to use
HE-types, but sometimes use AP types.

Other Names:
Shipunov 2A42, 30x165mm, KBP 30x165mm

Size: 30x165mm

Weight: 146 kg
per case of 100

Price: (APBC)
$635 per case

(APDS) $714 per case

(APFSDS) $1000 per case

(API) $682 per case

(HE-FRAG) $676 per case

(HE)
$541 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 1.17 kg

100-round belt: 116.63 kg

30mm Rarden

Notes: The 30mm
Rarden round was developed from the earlier Hispano-Suiza 831-L and the KCB
family of ammunition, and has been steadily upgraded over the years to deal with
newer threats and give the 30mm L-21A1 autocannon greater capability.It is virtually identical to the 30mm KCB round; the two rounds have
virtually the same dimensions and the L-21A1 can also fire KCB ammunition (but
not necessarily the other way around; guns designed for KCB ammunition cannot
necessarily fire Rarden ammunition). Round dimensions are medium-length for an
autocannon round, but propellant charge is decently large and the Rarden
ammunition has surprising power and range.(The long barrel helps in this regard.) The L-21A1 Rarden gun is fed by
small 3-round clips, which are fed into either side of its dual-feed mechanism.

Other Names:
HS-831

Size: 30x170mm

Weight: 43 kg
per case of 36

Price: (APDS)
$375 per case

(APFSDS) $413 per case

(APSE) $300 per case

(HE) $270 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 1.2 kg

3-round clip: 3.61 kg

30mm Oerlikon KCA

Notes: The KCA
was originally developed as an antiaircraft gun round, but designers were quick
to employ it on aircraft, and some time later, on AFVs.Along with its expanding duties, new ammunition was developed for the
KCA.Today, the KCA or KCB equips
dozens of fighter aircraft, and an increasing number of IFVs, self-propelled
antiaircraft guns, ground-mounted antiaircraft guns, and naval gun mounts.The KCB round is virtually identical to the KCA; the KCA uses a brass
case, while the KCB uses a steel case.The GAU-8 Avenger autocannon also uses an similar round; however, the
round produced for the GAU-8 has a light alloy case to save weight, is
electrically-primed, and uses a plastic driving band (as well as a flexible
chute feed, like most aircraft).
Most guns which can fire KCA can also fire KCB, but few KCA or KCB guns can fire
the GAU-8 round.They are, however,
the similar in size and weight and are variants of each other, so they are
included here together.

Notes:
Throughout most of its career, the M-53 round and its associated autocannons
were used by self-propelled and ground-mounted antiaircraft guns.However, starting about 20 years ago, Yugoslavia and later the former
Yugoslavia (especially Serbia) began mounting the M-53 autocannon, and its
improved variant, the M-86 autocannon, on IFVs and scout vehicles.(The M-86 gun also came with a range of improved ammunition, but this was
primarily improvements in the fuzes and stability of the warheads and
propellant).The rounds are large
and powerful, and are quite useful as antivehicle rounds when firing APFSDS
ammunition.The round and the
original autocannon that fired it was designed in the late 1950s in
Czechoslovakia; soon thereafter Yugoslavia adopted it for their 30mm
autocannons.

Other Names:
30mm M-86, 30mm Praga

Size: 30x220mm

Weight: 97kg per
case of 50

Price: (API)$456 per case

(APFSDS): $746 per case

(HE) $487 per case

(HEI) $487 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 1.56 kg

10-round clip: 15.55 kg

40-round belt: 62.2 kg

50-round magazine: 98.43 kg

35mm Oerlikon KDB

Notes: The KDB
was primarily designed for antiaircraft use, but most of the guns that use them
have a secondary role as ground-support weapons.Naval use is growing, particularly with the AHEAD antimissile round.The KCB is also beginning to be used in AFV cannons.

The KDB round is
a large round which has considerable power, and many AFV cannons which can use
the KDB can use the KDC with some adjustments to the breech; most such
autocannons have a variable breech for this purpose.Autocannons designed for the KDB typically use a long barrel length to
take as much as advantage as possible of the KDB’s power.KDB’s are almost always fed by belts.

The AHEAD round
requires some additional elaboration.Designed for close-range antiship missile defense, the AHEAD round is
also useful as an antipersonnel round.The round breaks up into 152 heavy tungsten pellets.When fired against missiles or vehicular targets, the damage is resolved
as 17 attacks with a penetration of 3 each, and each cluster requiring its own
“to hit” roll.When fired against
personnel, the damage is resolved as a claymore mine, but each hit has a
penetration of 1-Nil.

Other Names:
Oerlikon KDC, 35mm Bushmaster III, 35mm Mk 44

Size: 35x228mm

Weight: 154 kg
per case of 56

Price (AHEAD):
$1786 per case

(APCI): $548 per case

(APDS): $610 per case

(APFSDS): $867 per case

(APFSDS-T) $1061 per case

(APFSDSDU): $1114 per case

(API): $551 per case

(FAPDS): $473 per case

(HE/HEI): $442 per case

(HEAT): $631 per case

(HEDP): $537 per case

(HEIBF): $354 per case

(HEINF): $369 per case

(SAPHEI): $615 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 2.19 kg

55-round belt:120.6 kg

56-round belt: 122.8 kg

65-round belt: 142.6 kg

100-round belt: 219.4 kg

37mm M-1939

Notes: This
round is essentially a sized-up round from the pre-World War 2 Swedish Bofors
antiaircraft gun, a design which was sold to Russia in the 1930s.So far, the 37mm M-1939 is uses exclusively as an antiaircraft gun, both
in ground-mount and naval applications, though some experimental antiaircraft
vehicles have been equipped with the gun that fires this ammunition.Needless to say, such guns often find themselves used against personnel,
soft-skinned vehicles, and light armored vehicles, as well as fortifications.
Though it is an elderly design using elderly-design ammunition, it continues to
be a common sight throughout the world, and the ammunition now used is basically
a modern iteration of the older designs.Unlike most Soviet/Russian designs, the 37mm M-1939 cartridge case is
brass, though internally the propellant charge is held together by a cardboard
cylinder.In addition, the internal
walls of the case are wax-coated.
The round has copper driving bands.
Ignition is by conventional primer; most guns designed for this round are
recoil-operated.

Size: 37x252mm

Weight: 169.3 kg
per case of 50

Price:
(APFSDS-T) $577 per case

(API) $473 per case

(APHE) $677 per case

(FRAG-HE) $509 per case

(HE) $407 per case

(HVAP) $865 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 2.7 kg

5-round clip: 13.55 kg

40mm Bofors L/60

Notes: This
round was designed for the Bofors L/60 antiaircraft gun, when it was asked by
the Swedish Navy to produce a smaller, lighter version of the 57mm gun then in
use as an anti-torpedo boat that Finspong (later bought out by Bofors) had
designed for the Swedish Navy In 1900.Bofors produced a medium-weight gun, but with then high-velocity
ammunition which included a large shell packed with propellant.The ammunition was at first a non-starter, as it used zinc shell cases
that left heavy zinc deposits in the barrel, though this problem was later
solved through advances in the gun design during development.Current L/60s use brass cases instead of zinc.Rounds are rimmed, allowing them to be fed into a gun by hand-fed clips.
Production of both the gun and ammunition continue to this day, making it one of
the oldest autocannon designs in existence today.Some 74 countries use or used the L/60, primarily on ships or as AAA
guns, though the gun is also in use by the US AC-130 gunships.

Other Names:
40mm QF, 40mm Mark 26, 40mm Type 5

Size: 40x311mm

Weight: 195 kg
per case of 40

Price:
(APFSDS-T) $960 per case

(APHC-T) $765 per case

(AP) $380 per case

(HE) $380 per case

(MP) $456 per case

(PFHE) $456 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 3.9 kg

4-round clip: 15.6 kg

20-round magazine: 127.8 kg

40mm Bofors L/70

Notes: Though
the Bofors L/60 was an able antiaircraft gun in its time, after World War 2, the
increasing speed of jet aircraft meant that the L/60 not only did not fire fast
enough, it’s rounds didn’t have the velocity necessary to do the job.Bofors therefore developed a new 40mm autocannon, around a new shell
which had a much heavier propellant charge along with a slightly lighter
projectile.The stressing of the
new shell also meant that it had the strength to work with a higher cyclic rate
of fire than the L/60.The velocity
of the L/70 was, in fact, considered incredible at the time for such a large
round, and even today it’s velocity and hitting power are quite respectable.The first L/70 rounds were used in the Swedish 40mm Ivakan m/48
antiaircraft gun, which began service in 1951.Foreign sales rapidly followed, and thousands have been produced since
then.It has also gone on to be
used in autocannons not necessarily meant for the antiaircraft role, such as
that on the CV-9040, and the German Class 352, Class 333, and Class 332 mine
hunting vessels.Of course, there
are a plethora of antiaircraft designs using this round.Most guns firing this round are magazine or drum-fed instead of being
belt-fed; the weight of a full drum in most cases prevents the drum from being
loaded onto the weapon while full of rounds, and therefore the drum must be
loaded with mechanical assist or filled with rounds after it is attached to the
gun. The rounds are rimmed to facilitate this.

Notes: The 57mm
S-60 round was developed just after World War 2, and accepted along with the gun
that fired it in 1950.It is still
in service in many places worldwide, on ground-mounted antiaircraft guns,
self-propelled antiaircraft guns, and naval mountings.Though the 57mm S-60 round was based on both the Bofors 57mm round and
the Soviet 57mm round fired by some antitank guns in World War 2, the 57mm S-60
is noticeably weaker than both those rounds.The rounds for this gun have not changed since the early 1960s, with the
exception of the addition of the APFSDS round in the early 1970s when the round
and gun were being considered for use on a self-propelled light support gun.They have, however, been produced with increasing technological methods,
including the late 1990s switch in some countries from steel to brass cases, and
the change to non-corrosive primers.

Other Names:
57mm Type 59, 57mm Type 76, MK-781

Size: 57x384mm

Weight: 612.4 kg
per case of 50

Price: (AP)
$1959 per case

(APCBC) $2100 per case

(APFSDS) $2254 per case

(APHE) $2155 per case

(HE) $1617 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 9.8 kg

4-round clip: 39.2 kg

24-round belt: 235.2 kg

50-round belt: 489.9 kg

60mm HVMS

Notes: This
heavy autocannon round was developed specifically for one of IMI’s experiments
at increasing the firepower of AFVs as well as fire support vehicles.Experimental fittings were made to the M-113 and the Marder, and were
apparently successful, but not proceeded with beyond a few prototypes.However, the 60mm HVMS was used by Chile to re-arm some of their Sherman
tanks, and they later mated the 60mm HVMS to other vehicles (such as the M-24
Chaffee) and even developed a ground mounting for it.Developed in conjunction with Otobreda of Italy, the 60mm HVMS has, other
than Chile, found no commercial success or international interest.

Other Names:
60mm Otobreda HVMS, Oto-Melara T 60/70

Size: 60x410mm

Weight: 579.6 kg
per case of 40

Price:
(APFSDS-T) $3527 per case

(HE) $1494 per case

(HEAT) $2094 per case

(WP) $2694 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 11.6 kg

40-round linkless-feed magazine: 733.7 kg

40-round belt: 463.7 kg

75mm ARES CTA

Notes: This
round was designed specifically for the ARES XM-274 heavy autocannon, and when
ARES’s entry in the RDF/LT program fell through, eventually the XM-274 fell
through as well, and it has found no real-world users as of yet.In the Twilight 2000 timeline, the gun and its ammunition is used by the
LAV-75 light armored gun system.
The rounds for the XM-274 used case-telescoped ammunition (CTA), and it was one
of the first examples of CTA being used in a modern gun.The warheads for the round are set completely into the brass case and
surrounded by propellant, which is designed to fire in a precise pattern to
propel the warhead forwards in the same manner as normal ammunition.The 75mm CTA ammunition looks, externally, like a brass case with a flush
plastic cap; the CTA ammunition takes up less space than a comparable 75mm round
and weighs less than a similar 75mm conventional round.It also simplifies the feed system of the XM-274 and improves its feed
reliability.Colored identification
bands, caps, and labels identify the type of ammunition present.At first, Only the APFSDS and HE rounds were to be developed; the HEAT
and WP rounds were developed later at the request of the US Army to provide
greater flexibility in fire support.ARES is still willing to produce this gun system and its ammunition, but
they have had no takers so far.

Size: 75x406mm

Weight: 702 kg
per case of 36

Price: (APFSDS)
$6945 per case

(HE) $4104 per case

(HEAT) $5724 per case

(WP) $7344 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 15.6 kg

76mm OTO

Notes: The 76mm
OTO round was designed for the 76/62mm Allargato dual-purpose automatic naval
cannon.Since then, many guns have
been designed to use the round; most of these are naval rounds, though a few
land-based antiaircraft guns have been designed, as well as an antiaircraft
vehicle.(Most land-based designs
using this gun have not entered production and were produced as prototypes or
trials vehicles only.)Ammunition
is produced in many of the countries that use the Otobreda 76 series of
autocannons, including some guns that do not have licenses to do so.The 76mm OTO round is huge in size but relatively light in weight
compared to other rounds of its class.Most rounds loaded into Otobreda guns these days are HE rounds or HE-FRAG
rounds, though use of the PFF round is becoming more common and even the sabot
round is routinely carried by naval vessels should they be required. The APFSDS
round, however, was primarily designed for land applications, should an
antiaircraft gun have to engage light (or even medium) armor.The 76mm OTO round uses electrical ignition for its primer; feed may be
from short, medium, or long belts, or via an ammunition drum.